The Death Ride (Tour of the California Alps)
Markleeville / Alpine County · near Markleeville · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Road Cycling
At a glance
- Distance
- century
- Best season
- July event; the passes are only open summer–early fall
What is here
- Scenery
- mountain
- Amenities
- Legendary multi-pass challenge · Monitor & Ebbetts passes · Fully-supported July event · Bucket-list day for climbers
- Best for
- California's ultimate one-day climbing test
- Features
- The state's most legendary mountain challenge · ~15,000 ft of high-altitude climbing · Links the great Alpine County passes · Iconic July gran fondo
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- SEASONAL — passes open only summer–early fall · Massive climbing at high altitude — extreme effort · Heat, sun, cold & thin air in one day · Long descents demand strong braking & focus
- Beginner friendly
- No
Road Cycling detail
- Ride types
- pass · climb
- Road
- quiet
- Climbing
- 5
- Ride notes
- California's most legendary one-day mountain challenge — a grueling ~103-mile ride out of Markleeville climbing both sides of three Alpine County passes (Monitor, Ebbetts, and Pacific Grade) for around 14,000+ feet of high-altitude climbing, held each July
- Stats note
- ~103 mi, ~14,000+ ft over both sides of Monitor, Ebbetts & Pacific Grade (six HC climbs)
- Seasonal
- Yes
- Intl tip
- California's most legendary one-day mountain challenge — the Tour of the California Alps, a grueling ~103-mile summer ride out of Markleeville that climbs both sides of three Alpine County passes (Monitor, Ebbetts, and Pacific Grade) for six HC climbs and ~14,000+ ft of gain, mostly above 6,000 ft and topping near 9,000. (Recent editions dropped the old Carson Pass leg of the classic five-pass, 129-mile format.) A fully-supported July event and a bucket-list rite for serious climbers. The passes are strictly seasonal (summer–early fall). One day of heat, sun, cold, thin air, and huge descents: train for the climbing and altitude, over-fuel, dress for wild swings, focus on the descents.
The guide
The Death Ride — officially the Tour of the California Alps — is the most legendary one-day mountain cycling challenge in the s…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to The Death Ride (Tour of the California Alps) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.6944, -119.7783